Archives / 2013 / July

A certain YouTube atheist, CultofDusty, has staked the claim that “atheists own the Internet.” I won’t link to his video here, because Dusty takes a George Carlin persona and has all the associated linguistic traits (and to be fair, he has in turn shown himself to be courteous in comments to me). He’s a bit of a performer, so one may perhaps excuse him for some hyperbole. However... »

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society publishes the following explanation of why their followers, known as Jehovah’s Witnesses and called by this article “true Christians”, do not use the cross in worship. (What Does The Bible Really Teach?(c)2005 Appendix pg. 204-206) THE cross is loved and respected by millions of people. The Encyclopædia Britannica calls the cross “the... »

Let me note two seemingly very different things and tie them together. Item 1: my ministry partner Nick Peters brought to my attention a news item indicating that one state was saving money by cutting student testing in a specific area — that of writing. Item 2: I’ve noted an increase of late in advertising for the “Dragon Naturally Speaking” software, which allows users to... »

I have recently read a few blog posts which argue in favor of total depravity. You can read a couple of those by Aaron Brake and J. Warner Wallace. In this post, I would like to write briefly on false dichotomies and the terms basic vs. essential. In my next post(s), I will address certain Bible verses pertaining to this issue. Before I begin, it would be important to define total depravity. The... »

The current crisis concerning government debt and programs like Medicare raises another “WWJD” question that has occurred to me of late. What indeed would Jesus do (or say) about government social programs like these? The answer is pretty simple, and its reflects poorly on our job as the church, stretching back quite some time. The model given in Acts is that of a church where property... »

An old Daniel Dennett talk, which I think demonstrates a charitability and humility that folks on the theistic side of the fence do not often attribute to Dennett (perhaps with good reason given some of the things Dennett has gone on record as saying). As a theist, I found Dennett’s attitude in this talk pretty agreeable: it takes one off the defensive, and allows one to open up to a more ba... »

Allow me to begin this post by stating that I believe Presuppositionalism has a lot to offer non-presuppositionalist approaches. Perhaps more so than how it is currently being credited. Additionally, I believe that many non-presuppositionalists do misunderstand some of what the Presups are saying, which also leads me to think there is more common ground between the differing apologetic approache... »

In his review of my discussion with Dr. K. Scott Oliphint, James White argues for Presuppositionalism. Before I begin my disagreements/clarifications with White, I want to say that I wholeheartedly agree with him that how one views the sovereignty of God and the nature of man determines other beliefs in theology and specifically, one’s apologetic approach. Yet, I get the impression that th... »